Man kills himself in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

A MAN has died after shooting himself in the head in the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, police have confirmed.

People gather as police cordon off the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Picture: AP

The man was named by police as 78-year-old Dominique Venner, a historian known for his far-right political essays.

He had posted a blog on May 21st, criticising a law passed by France’s Socialist government allowing same-sex marriage.

According to eyewitnesses, Mr Venner walked into the 850-year-old monument and placed a letter on the altar before pulling out a gun and shooting himself in the head.

Notre Dame Cathedral at night. Picture: AFP

A police source said that he had made no declaration before shooting himself, shortly after 2pm local time today.

Crowds of visitors were evacuated in the aftermath as police, the Paris prosecutor and church employees gathered inside the Cathedral.

The rector of the Parisian landmark, Monsignor Patrick Jacquin, confirmed that it was the first suicide at the church in decades, saying: “It’s unfortunate, it’s dramatic, it’s shocking.”

Mgr. Jacquin added that a few people had committed suicide by jumping from Notre Dame’s twin towers, but he had no knowlesge of anyone ever killing themselves on the altar.

A police official confirmed that officers had closed the church to the public and were investigating.

The tourist attraction, which is visited by around 13 million people from around the world every year, was given new bells this year as part of the celebrations marking 850 years since the Cathedral was constructed in the 12th century.

The suicide comes less than a week after a man shot himself dead in front of a number of schoolchildren at a private Catholic school in the French capital.